Abc's and 123'S

There is no advantage to knowing her abc's and 1, 2,3 's now. Leave it alone and continue to talk and read to her and let her enjoy what she enjoys. It's fantastic that she can tell great stories!! Wait till she's getting ready to start Kindergarten. Mine kinda learned it on their own from videos, toys, etc. If she loves to be read to have her retell the stories. If she loves puzzles challenge her there, etc

I know tv isn't always the answer, but seriously, my oldest learned so much watching Mickey Mouse, Dora, the Wiggles, Super Why. Yes, I use tv to make dinner sometimes ... ok too often, but they really do help!

Goodness girl! Take it back a bit. There is absolutely NO RUSH to have your baby knowing all the academic stuff at 2! I have four kids and they all have an aptitude for different things and have different learning curves although all incredibly smart, e.g.:

Oldest boy - could speak full sentences at 1, recognized all his letters and some sight words by 1 1/2, had a very large vocabulary and clear pronunciation by 2 but couldn't care less about numbers and didn't do well socially at all! Today he is 11, incredibly creative and gets all As and Bs in school and a great illustrator and writer.

Next boy - couldn't understand a word he said until 2 1/2 and didn't even put sentences together until nearly 3, just wouldn't speak. He is going into kindergarten on one week and does not know all of his letters but can add 3-digit numbers together in his head. He is 5 and never stops talking now. Has amazingly creative ideas and can't get enough of numbers.

Next Girl - Is 3 and will not pee in a toilet (brothers both did it when they turned 2). She knows the alphabet and counting (most by sight as well) but cannot draw a thing (both brothers show an aptitude for drawing). She cannot copy anything but a circle. Loves to draw and read books and has a HUGE tude! We are not sure if we are going to make it through 3 with her. Ha ha!

Baby - Yet to see where she is, maybe a culmination of the three others.

Basically what it comes down to, all kids learn and do things at different paces. In our society we put a lot of focus on what our kids can do and how soon, when in reality the kids that do the best in school are the ones who "learn to learn" a not what they learn.

In other words, at two if you start creating habits that are fun with learning and read every day together and all she does is look at pics, your little baby will be the one that excels in school. She will be the one that has the vigor to learn because that is what you taught her. Don't worry about the technicalities, she will have her day when the letters and numbers mean something to her, just help her enjoy the process. You also need to really take notice on her ability to tell stories like she does, what a gift. This leads to so many incredible abilities in life, i.e., creative writing, logic, attention to detail, etc. All traits most of the population does not have.

If you want to play letters an numbers with her, try getting those foam bathtub letters that stick to the side of the bath. Every time she takes a bath just play with them with her. For a long time all my kids did was make boats, pictures and everything else with them, but every time they touch one I say what the letter is. It is totally fun. You can also count every time you put food on the plate or put socks on, so it is not a chore, just something you do. She will start to see the significance and start counting with you. Totally fun, no stress, no pressure.

Good luck

Someone asked a similar question yesterday. I beleive most children are ready to start learning letters and numbers at age 2 1/2. However, all children are different and each own learns at her own pace. Based on what you're saying it appears that she's just not ready for this concept, so don't push it.

Continue counting with her in your everyday life, like when your making dinner say "I need 5 potatoes, will you help me?" and count them together.

My advise for letters is other than the alphabet song, do not teach the letters in order. You may want to start with the letters in her name. I would also try to make a game of it, give her an alphabet puzzle or refrigerator magnets.

Make a letter of the week and try to find that letter. At this age children learn best through play and through repeition.

Also, keep reading. Read the board books with just one word or sentence on a page and read actual stories.

All kids these days seem to be smart in some respect or another. My son knew the entire alphabet by 18 months. He is now four and can count to fourty by himself. He also knows the shapes and colors. I did the foamy alphabets a and number that stick on the bathtub tile. I would make a game of it when she is in the bathtub. Some educational shows like sesame street or super why are also fun and go over numbers and letters. do not press the issue,have fun she is only going to be little once.

Slow down and enjoy these early years, they go way too fast! It seems like it was just yesterday that we were celebrating my baby's first birthday, and now we're counting the days until her first day of Kindergarten (5 more days)! Your daughter sounds like my daughter in the sense that she loves learning. Just because she's not counting and doesn't know her letters yet certainly doesn't put her behind! Just keep playing and reading with her and it will all come in its own time. Generally the attention span for children around age 3 is only about 3-5 minutes so don't worry that she doesn't want to sit more than that. Have fun and enjoy your little girl!

I'm with Sandy.
She's only 2.5 she should be playing , working on pretend, her imagination and motor skills not going to school. If she's gifted she will pick it up with out all of the drills and questions.
Mine also learned it all on their own.
Toddlers learn through play.
There really is no advantage to her learning them this early. By the end of Kindergarten they are all on the same level.

I would step back and see if she will count on her own, my daughter did that when she started learning her 123s and ABCs, she was 1 1/2 (she is really into learning and is advanced a bit), when I stepped back I heard her counting and would point out the alphabet letters on random signs so she knew it she just didn't do it when I wanted her to tell me. I really wanted to have the teaching type sessions, but she didn't last more than 5 mins... young kids just don't like them lol. What I did is I got the flash cards with the alphabet and whenever she was interested we would do a couple letters a day. I got the dry erase board and when she would color on it she'd ask me to color too and I'd write a letter and say it, that taught her letters too. I'm not sure how you know they are ready, they just learn it :P

I didn't know about the starfall site, but I just checked it out and will be using it lol It looks really helpful.

I agree with Jennifer G too. TV shouldn't be a crutch, but some of those shows are really educational for kids. My daughter learned a bunch of spanish from Dora and can count in Spanish now lol

As a preschool teacher we really start hitting this at four, but we introduce at three. Depends on the kid when they are ready. However, the way you do the activity makes a HUGE difference at this age. If you are just "drilling" them, they are not going to get it really. we play a lot of games, sing songs about them whie pointing to the letters, etc. if you research preschool sites online i bet you can get a lot of good ideas. Most of all she is a kid, still let her play and explore and enjoy being young. she will pick up when she is ready and interested

At this age they learn so much through reading and play. You can read to her while she plays and point things out in the books and count everything. She'll catch on very quickly. You're doing a great job. Don't feel like you have to do more. She's very advanced and will continue to catch on and learn as she gets older. I found that just like with potty training and walking etc. Children learn at all different ages but they all learn eventually. It sounds like you're having a blast!! Good luck!! =D

My son turned 2 at the end of July and since last Christmas we've had the LeapFrog Fridge Phonics "toy" on our refrigerator at his height. He loves it! He'll sit down and play with it for 15 minutes at a time. And as a result, he's demonstrated knowledge of all the letters and their sounds for a couple months now and recently (like the last month or two) he's begun singing the alphabet on his own. I've yet to hear him sing it front to back but he definitely knows large chunks of it.

I also attribute his knowledge of letters and numbers (he can count to 20 and usually only misses a number or two) to watching Sesame Street. He watches one episode a day usually (it's an evening treat and it gives me time to make dinner) and I can't believe how educational and fun it is! I even like watching it with him :)

I agree that kids all learn different things at different times and I wouldn't stress over trying to truly teach her right now - she'll get them all eventually. And that's pretty cool that she knows her CPU parts!! I don't think I know another toddler who can say that!!

My son counted to 14 right around his 2nd bday. But he was an avid learner. He loves to learn. He is 3 and tells me the sounds of each letter and can almost count to 20.

I started by watching "Meet the letters" and "Meet the numbers" - dvds made by preschoolprepco.com . My library had them to rent for free. We also watched a Leap Frog dvd about the letter sounds. Oh how I got tired of watching that one. My son loved it. We read books daily. He loves books. We have since bought "Meet the Sight Words" and so he helps me read the words "it, and, the, his, he, was, have, see, ...... " 30 words total.

I think just keep giving your daughter learning opportunities, but don't force her. She'll get it in no-time.

ADDED: I just got the game "Hi Ho Cherrio" and it has you counting as high as 4. It'd be a fun game, plus good practice at counting. My 3 yr old loves it. (But there are small parts! Keep an eye on her).

If she is as interested in books and such as you say why not get her a bunch of ABC and 123 books? My daughter is almost 20 months and she knows all her numbers and letters on their own and in sequence and its all from books and singing and just making it a game
I wouldnt say that she is behind in any way. She is still very young and if she knows all her shapes and colors Im sure that the ABC's and 123's will come with time
Good Luck

my son didn't know his abc's or 1,2.3's either until he went to prescool part time. he never had the interest in it. now at 5(just turned july 31) he knows all of his abc's. he's reading, and he can also recognize and count to 100. get her on www.starfall.com. it's a great resource for young children. they use it in preschools, and elementary schools. it's a lot of fun while teaching them the basics.

There was a very similar question to this one posted a day or two ago, so I'm copying the answer that I posted there:

There is a big range of when kids know this. I know kids who know all their letters right around their 2nd birthdays, and I know kids going into kindergarten who don't. It depends on a lot of factors. I would not expect a boy who is 2 and 2 months to know all of his letters.

Also, don't think of it so much as "working" with her on the letters. You are right that you need to have fun, engaging activities to get her interested.. At this age, you need to make it fun, and you need to do something where she is more involved. Get the leapfrog refrigerator magnets so she can play: http://www.amazon.com/LeapFrog-Fridge-Phonics-Magnetic-Al...

Play www.starfall.com

Or, please take a look at my Discovery Toys website. All of our products are fun, but also educational, so they help kids learn through play. They are very popular in preschools, day cares, elementary schools and more. You can view all of my toys at http://www.discoverytoyslink.com/karenchao

A couple of specific recommendations from my site:
Letter Fun Lotto (on sale through 8/21 or while supplies last - whichever comes first)
ABSeas (a fun fishing game)
The Sounds Like Learning CD has a great alphabet song on it that some people remember learning as kids 20 years ago! It teaches the sounds of the letters and comes with a great chart with graphics and letters (on sale through 8/21 or while supplies last)

I hope you'll take a look. If you want your toys for free, talk to me about hosting an in-home or catalog party.

K.
http://www.discoverytoyslink.com/karenchao

You're on the right track. Just keep it fun--she doesn't really need to be drilled on anything. Count when you can, do letters when you can.

I say, just get more counting books & ABC books from the library.

The 5 little monkey books by Eileen Christelow by Eileen Christelow are fun and kids love them. She doesn't need to know how to count to 20 or anything, the idea is just to count a little bit. She'll learn more numbers as she goes.

There are lots of good ABC books out there. One of my all time favorites is Dr Seuss's ABCs. Love it, and kids usually love it too! (I love Seuss!!)

Check with the librarian about other counting books--if she has a favorite character (my son loves Richard Scarry's Busytown/Busytown mysteries, etc.), chances are there is either a counting book or an ABC book or both using those characters.

Just incorporate it in every day stuff. Like, for lunch, have a bagel, blueberries and bananas, and tell her they all start with the letter B and maybe make a letter B with the blueberries or something. Count the berries, count the bagel.

Word World, a PBS show is a good one for words & letter sounds.

We also do sound games: B makes the sound "bbb"; then we do words that s

Get some fridge magnets of letters and numbers and let her play with those. Have her help you find the letter. We also did "letter races"--we took the letters off the fridge and put them at the end of the hallway (start it easy, with 2 or 3 letters to pick from). We said, run to the end of the hallway and find the letter X. Ready, set, go!" Our little guy loved that (and it burned off some energy).

But don't stress out about it--she is doing just fine! :)

My little guy is 28 months old and learned how to count a little before he turned 2 by watching the Count on Sesame Street, The Wiggles and other shows. It wasn't something I was actively trying to get him to learn yet he's been counting quite well to 20 and today he surprised me with "21" ; ) We also count out things like blocks, his fingers and toes, the stairs, whatever we happen to be doing.

He's started getting into letters but not really recognizing many yet. We're singing the ABC song and he has a VTech ABC Text and Go that looks like a big orange Blackberry. It has number and word games on it and he calls it his "phone" and loves it. I picked it up a little before his birthday in April at Target for $14.99.
http://www.amazon.com/Vtech-ABC-Text-and-Go/dp/B0038BBHMS

We go to the library for storytime, and even there attention spans can be very short, so we just walk out for a few minutes and come back, as many of the parents and toddlers do. We check out books on all kinds of topics and just have fun.

Today I called the preschool he'll be starting in fall 2012 and asked if there's anything I should be working on with him in the next year and was told "no." I think the main thing is to expose our children to lots of learning experiences, let them have fun, and not worry if they're ready or have the right activities to hold their interests at this point. They're like little sponges right now, absorbing everything they see and hear, so if we provide the opportunities for them to learn i think we're doing them justice.

Incorporate numbers and letters into things you do; count out apple slices, quartered sandwiches, her dolls or other toys, flowers, etc., and when you talk about things say things like, "Apple begins with the letter 'A' " and show her the letter "A" with some magnetic letters on the fridge (we keep them out of reach for now.) If she's like my little guy she'll repeat the phrase "Apple begins with the letter 'A'" and seeing the letter will reinforce the experience. If she gets frustrated it's too much like work for her and it should be fun. Don't worry, she's smart, she'll learn like she's learned everything else so far.

I think she ought to be ready...by the time my oldest turned two, she knew and could recognize her letters and numbers, plus count to ten. By three, she could read sight words and was phonetically proficient, could count to 20, and do simple addition with visual aids. I don't think she's advanced, necessarily...but I did take the time to work on these things with her from an early age.

For letters, we used a magic-doodle board and made it a drawing game. (you know, A is a hat, B is a stick with two fat B-b-b-bubbles, etc). Alphabet books also work, and we used a lot of pre-k workbooks (the colorful, fun kind.)

Numbers were pretty much the same thing...we'd play counting games (hi-ho-cherry o, for example) and Uno, and count everything, and make a drawing games out of numbers, too.

Sounds like she is right on track. The first step to learning letters and numbers is for a child to recognize that the markings that they see are symbols that represent something. It may feel like she is just pulling letters out of a hat, but she is demonstrating that she gets the concept of a letter. That is a BIG step! Praise her! You can continue to correct and teach, but don't pressure her. At around three she should start to recognize the letters in her own name, the rest of the letters come after that. A child's attention span is about as many minutes as their age so don't expect her to focus on something longer than 2.5 minutes. You are doing great, your child is right on track, enjoy playing together and the letters and numbers will come.